For those uninitiated into The Real Housewives universe, Bravo’s 20-year-old reality franchise series details the glamorous (yet messy) lives of America’s rich wives (and divorcees) and mothers hailing from Beverly Hills, the OC, New York, Atlanta, Utah, Potomac and elsewhere. It is a global success — sparking spinoffs in Dubai, South Africa, Cheshire, UK and more — and viewing figures don’t seem to be waning. Despite their wealth, the cast members spend most of their time screaming at each other and gossiping about each other’s marital secrets. To put it mildly, both Bravo and its shows can be problematic: biases are often exposed as well as some of the castmembers legal issues (a few of the cast members have landed in prison; recently RHOP’s Karen Huger has been sentenced to 1 year in prison for a DUI), and a lot of the marriages fall apart in front of the camera. It is trash TV coated in diamonds. Yet there is sincerity to be found when watching this guilty pleasure if you choose to look for it; the cast have navigated addiction and alcoholism, supported each other through cancer and encouraged mammograms. They have helped cast members through domestic abuse, the betrayal of infidelity, and so on. For me, the show has continually ignited necessary conversations about motherhood, Black women’s maternal health, fertility struggles and gynaecological health at a time when it’s most crucial.
